Wild Life (Wings album)
Occupation
- Paul McCartney: vocals, bass, keyboards
- Linda McCartney: vocals
- Denny Seiwell: Drums
- Denny Laine: Guitar
Studios
- Abbey Road Studios, London
Wild Life is the debut album by the group Wings. It is also the third album by Paul McCartney after its separation from the Beatles. It was released on December 7, 1971.
The making of the album
After his two previous solo projects grew in Paul McCartney of the desire to get back to playing in a band and especially performing live again in public. It was McCartney, who had tried in the final phase of the Beatles to persuade his colleagues to concert performances. However, He met with John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison in particular on any consent. The compromise resulted in 1969 in the tense for the group Get-Back sessions.
After the separation, Paul McCartney had recorded his first solo album almost alone. For his second album Ram he hired studio musicians to support him. For his next project he was looking for suitable musicians for his new group. Previously, he had his wife Linda McCartney asked if they could imagine to participate at his side in a rock band. You should play the keyboards - which meant for them to have to learn the basics of the instrument.
As a drummer he could win Seiwell Denny, who had already been involved in the recording of Ram. There was the singer and guitarist Denny Laine, who had been from 1964 to 1966 a member of the British band The Moody Blues and Paul McCartney had met in 1965 during a tour. On August 3, 1971 Paul McCartney announced the formation of the group Wings.
During the summer of 1971, the McCartneys had a number of new pieces composed which should now form the basis for an album. After the group had rehearsed some time in McCartney's small home studio on his Scottish farm, studio time in London "Abbey Road Studios " has been posted. The recordings for Wildlife held - in August 1971 found there - with Tony Clark and Alan Parsons, Paul McCartney knew from Beatles days when engineers.
Paul McCartney later said that he had been inspired by Bob Dylan's example of this, to record the album in the shortest possible time. McCartney hoping for a fresh, spontaneous sound of this approach. Most of the pieces for wildlife were recorded in one or two takes. Some pieces also emerged only directly during recording sessions, such as the opening track of the album Mumbo. The recordings lasted for a total of not much more than two weeks.
The album contains ten tracks that named all but one of Paul and Linda McCartney as authors. Both also were responsible as a producer of the album.
Title list
With the exception of the play Love Is Strange come all the compositions of Paul and Linda McCartney.
Page 1
Page 2
1987 First CD - release bonus tracks
1993 Remaster Bonus Tracks
- Wings' debut single; not played by the BBC because of the political content in radio, first released here on CD.
- Wings' second single.
- B- side of the single Mary Had a Little Lamb; the song is originally from the Ram sessions.
- Was first published in February 1990 as a single B-side of Put it There; originally it comes from the Red Rose Speedway sessions.
ITunes bonus tracks ( 2007)
- Give Ireland Back to the Irish (Version ) - 3:46
Information about individual songs
Mumbo 's fast, rocking piece that emerged from a jam session. The song begins abruptly, because the recording was started while the musicians played. Paul McCartney's statement to start at the sound engineer the band is to listen to the beginning of the piece: Take it, Tony! ( This refers to Tony Clark). The song consists of meaningless syllables strung together.
Bip Bop is a quick piece that is characterized by a fingerpicking guitar figure. The text is limited to banalities.
Love Is Strange is considered the first reggae recording of a "white" group. The original was in 1956 by the duo Mickey and Sylvia, followed by the Everly Brothers in 1965, and Peaches & Herb published in 1967.
Dear Friend was recorded during the sessions for the album Ram, but it was finished during the recording of wildlife. Many Dear Friend was understood as a musical message of John Lennon.
Single releases
It was planned in January 1972, the single (catalog number: Apple R 5932 ) to publish Love Is Strange with the B- side of I Am Your Singer in the UK. However, there were only white pattern Singles ( demo singles ) made whether promotional singles have been produced, is not detectable.
Published in France promotion Bip Bop Love / Tomorrow ( catalog number: Apple SP 207 ) was prepared and in Turkey, the single Bip Bop / Love Is Strange (Apple LA 4342 catalog number).
In Mexico, an EP was released with the following songs in 1972: Love Is Strange / I am Your Singer / Tomorrow / Mumbo.
Chart positions
Reissues
- The first released in CD format in October 1987.
- In April 1993, the CD was released in a remastered version.
- In May 2007, the album was released in download format.
The cover and the label
The front of the cover shows a photograph of a Stream Landscape with a guitar playing Paul McCartney, who is in a creek up to his thighs. On a road that spans the creek, sit the other musicians of the newly formed Wings. From left to right Seiwell Denny, Linda McCartney and Denny Laine are seen. The photo came from Barry Lategan. The cover bears no inscription, which Capitol Records prompting to stick sticker with a note Wings Wildlife on the plastic packaging of the LP. It was feared that buyers would otherwise not recognize who the artist. A little later the marketing department seemed to have recognized that even this Note may not be sufficient, since Wings was still unknown. An additional sticker containing the Notice Paul McCartney and Friends.
On the back there is a drawing of Paul McCartney showing his group playing. The outlined figures this wing ( = Wings ) on the back. There will also be located on the back of a short text that takes a position short of establishing Wings and the recording of the album. The text is signed with Clint Harrigan. Later it turned out that behind Paul McCartney hid.
Paul McCartney wanted the album because of its conflict with Allen Klein does not publish under the Apple label, but was contractually obligated to do so. However, he replaced the apple logo on the record by photographs of his and Linda McCartney's face.
Criticism
The album received mostly poor reviews. It is also true in retrospect many critics as the worst album that Paul McCartney has ever published. The expectation had been high and most pieces on Wildlife lagged behind what was expected of a composer such as Paul McCartney. Wildlife was also used to shoppers worse than McCartney's previous solo albums that reached # 1 or # 2 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S.. In the U.S. Wildlife came to number 10 on the Billboard charts in the UK was ranked 11th, the highest placement. Nevertheless ranged sales in the U.S. in order to qualify for the 1972 award with a gold record.
Wildlife put on great feelings, but was musically limp and lyrically weak and meaningless, so John Mendelsohn ruled in 1972 in the music magazine "Rolling Stone" on the album, but it was the other hand, unpretentious, with beautiful melodies in some places and nicely done pop music.
" But allow no one to convince you did it's Entirely devoid of merit: while it's vacuous, flaccid, impotent, trivial and unaffecting. It's so unpretentious melodically charming in several places, warm, and pleasant. Mostly, it's nicely (...) Executed pop music, and shoulderstand be taken or left on base did alone. "